The Murder House
by Lana Archer
Summary: Bonnie Bennett was used to the small town life. But her entire world is turned upside down when her parents relocate to Los Angeles. She'd heard a couple of good ghost stories in her time, but if she survived this, it would take the cake. American Horror Story with a TVD twist! (Full description inside)
1. Say Your Goodbyes Honey

**Full Summary: Bonnie Bennett and her parents have just unknowingly moved into one of the most notoriously haunted houses in all of Los Angeles. There's a reason it was so affordable, and surprisingly enough, it didn't have **_**that**_** much to do with the fact that the last two tenants killed themselves on the property – it is after all known as The **_**Murder**_** House... While Bonnie's parents try and revive their loveless marriage the teenager uncovers some deadly secrets about her neighbours, her basement and the deceptively attractive boy next door.**

**Characters: Rudy Hopkins (Boris Kodjoe), Abby Bennett-Hopkins (Nicole Beharie), Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins, Giuseppe Salvatore (Henry Cavill/neighbour), Damon Salvatore, Stefan Salvatore, Matt Donovan, Lucy Bennett (Aisha Tyler/as Bonnie's aunt not her cousin.) Katherine Pierce as the 'help' (AHS's Moira) as well as Ines Salvatore (Kate Beckinsale), Lafayette and Jesús (From **_**True Blood**_**), Caleb Danvers (From **_**The Covenant**_**) and whoever else I decide to toss into this mad world.**

**Rating: M (Subject matter will range between topics such as abortion, suicide, violence, murder, mental diseases, deformity, body mutilation, etc.) Those who've seen the show (AHS) will understand.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**Say Your Goodbyes Honey**

Bonnie Bennett was _furious_. She thought she'd reached her limit when her parent's had threatened to file for a divorce after her sister turned out to be a still-born but this…this was something else entirely.

"What the hell do you mean we're _moving_?!" She exclaimed as she flung her arms out in anger. Her mother, Abby Bennett-Hopkins crossed her arms and sighed at her daughter's dramatics.

"First of all, don't take that tone with me," Abby replied in a clipped voice before exhaling and trying her best to smooth things over with the most truthful explanation she could give at this point, "Secondly your father and I –"

"_Your husband_ –" Bonnie quipped with a sharp gleam in her eye.

"Your father and I think that it's best for the family." Abby finished, already readying herself for her daughter's umpteenth blow-up. Bonnie barked a humourless laugh and her eyes bulged while she scoffed at her mother.

"The '_family'_… what _**family**_?! There is no _family_, there's just you and dad, me and a dead baby." Abby's chest tightened at Bonnie's insensitivity. Though she couldn't blame her, all her and Rudy's fighting had conditioned their daughter to turn out as callous as she had. "All you and daddy ever fight about is how _mad_ you both are after we lost Sarah, but what about _me_? Hmm? I lost my sister and _both_ my parents when she died…because not _once_ since then have either you taken my feelings or needs into consideration and _**now**_…now you want to take the little I have left and throw it away all because you think moving to _Los Angeles_ is going to change the fact that you can't look either yourself or your husband in the eye and you know _what_ mom? You both need to stop acting like you're the only two people in the world who are suffering…because you're _**not**_." Bonnie spun on her heel then and stormed off to her room where she'd no doubt call one of her friends and disappear for a few hours. Abby watched the petite firestorm leave and couldn't help but wonder when her own fire had been snuffed out.

* * *

><p>"Can you believe this shit?" Bonnie hissed as she locked the door of her bedroom after Matt Donovan clamoured in through the window. Tying her hair up she balled her hands into fists as the memory replayed in her head again. "She told me right after dinner as she was packing the washer," Bonnie tossed a can of soda at him without really looking which he easily caught as he settled on the edge of her bed and watched her pace to and fro, "Bonnie," the girl said doing her best impression of her mother's brooding disposition, "I just wanted you to know that before the month is over we'll have moved to Los Angeles." Bonnie widened her eyes as she growled and flopped down next to her boyfriend. "What the hell am I supposed to do." she muttered the last bit with her face pressed into her bedding but Matt heard her loud and clear. Settling the can down on the floor where it was out of the way he kicked his shoes off and moved further onto the bed, pulling her small body along with him. She flipped over as she lay on his legs, looking up at him with sad green eyes. It damn well broke his heart.<p>

"Do you think they'll do it?" He wondered because everyone knew her parents were notoriously fickle; they may not even go through with it. She pressed her eyes closed and worried her bottom lip between her teeth as tears fell. Matt hauled her up into an embrace, lifting her onto his lap so that he could rub circles into her back. Her arms immediately wrapped around his neck as she cried and nodded.

"There's nothing left for them to do, so they have no choice but to pretend this is the last option they have." Bonnie said in a strangled voice and she clung onto him for what she now saw as one of the last times. "Just…" she took in a deep breath as she pulled away to look him in the eye, fuck she was going to miss him, "Just kiss me or something, please?"

* * *

><p><em>Every day I wake up<em>

_Every day I wake up alone_

Bonnie had turned her music all the way up as she danced around her bedroom and sang along to Taylor Momsen's band _The Pretty Reckless_. Gossip Girl was shit as all shit but at least it brought Bonnie to the actresses' singing career that made her role as Jenny Humphrey forgivable.

"Kill me, just kill me or get me out of the sun." The green eyed girl sang as she wound her hips in time with the rhythmic percussion. She was sure her parents would have yelled at her to turn it down if they weren't busy yelling at _each other_ about what they wanted to take with them and what they wanted to leave behind in Virginia. All Bonnie planned on packing were her books, her CDs and vinyl records and her extensive knitwear collection. The rest could go to hell as far as she was concerned. "Someone get me out of the sun." Bonnie zipped another bag closed and looked around her room with uninterested eyes. She had a few things she'd set aside for Matt and her best friends Tyler and Caroline – gifts and nostalgic…_stuff_ that would hurt her more if she had them. Molotov, or Molly for short, purred as she curled around Bonnie's ankles, looking for a few moments of affection before she scampered off and terrorized the neighbour's dog. Bonnie picked Molly up and wrapped her up in her thin arms, running her fingers through the animal's fur as she sighed again at the state of her life. Just then Bonnie's phone rang and she slid her thumb over the screen and pressed the device between her shoulder and her ear while she set Molly on the edge of her bed and turned back to the still open boxes in front of her. "Talk to me." She said by of greeting and grinned when she heard Tyler's voice cackling on the other end.

"Could you turn down the angry girl music and listen to me for a second?" The boy wondered and she could almost see his onyx eyes twinkling with mischief as she scoffed and did as he asked.

"But it's so much more _fun_ when I don't have to hear my parent's arguing about who was the last person to see the duct tape." Bonnie said with a playful pout.

"Which I have no doubt is in your hand right now," Bonnie frowned down at the roll of tape dangling from her index finger before tossing it onto her desk, "So we're going to get a little _high_ and a little _weird_ at my place tonight and I fully expect you to be here." She grinned.

"Sure Lockwood, I'll be there in an hour, I just have a few loose ends to tie up, it is a _week_ until I'm shipped off to hell you know." She said with a deep disdain seeping into her voice and she heard Tyler sigh.

"Which is why you should be here already, I don't even want to think about you leaving right now. It's bumming me out and you know how I feel about feelings."

"You hate them," Bonnie said with a rehearsed boredom, "Which is ironic, I hope you know that."

"I'm a jock, I don't know anything." They both laughed.

"Alright, get out of my ear, I'll text you when I'm on my way." Bonnie said, biting on her thumb nail as she looked around her room. She still had so much to do.

"Give Molly a kick for me." Tyler said with a guffaw and promptly hung up.

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><p>"I can't believe you brought gifts!" Caroline squealed, clapping her hands excitedly as she rifled through until she had a pile of all the ones addressed to her. Bonnie chuckled into the mouth of her beer bottle as she watched the blonde gush at how many more presents were in her pile than in either of the boys'.<p>

"Technically they're not presents because I didn't spend a single cent." Bonnie pointed out, her eyes on Matt who was already shaking his head in disapproval, "And even if I did Donovan, you can't turn any of them down. It's practically my dying wish for you to have them."

"Don't talk like that." Matt replied with a frown and she sighed with a soft laugh, he could be so soft sometimes. She crawled over to him as they all sat on the floor in front of the fire place in the entertainment room of Tyler's mansion.

"I'm kidding babe, you know if I was dying you wouldn't be getting presents, you'd be getting a long list of things to do for me before I kick the bucket." He couldn't help but smile at her as she kissed him quickly and repeatedly on the mouth until he pulled her closer for a fuller kiss and Tyler tossed coasters at them while Caroline ripped the wrapping off of her second present.

"Don't leave me alone with the Head Cheerleader!" Tyler accused, moving deftly out of the way when a ball of wrapping paper came flying at his head. He pointed at his face, making a circle with raised brows while mouthing 'not the money maker bitch' to Caroline.

"The two of you are like the kids I never had!" Bonnie said with pointed sarcasm and Matt cackled.

"I'm pretty sure if we had kids they wouldn't turn out anything like these two!" The blonde boy said, widening his eyes in fear, which wasn't entirely unwarranted. Caroline snorted at that as she read through the track list of a mixed CD Bonnie had made her titled "Shut Up and Play It Blondie."

"You two _wish_ your kids would be half as fabulous as I am, I can't blame you for not wanting a little Tyler though, god, could you imagine how often you'd have to wash his sheets with all the sex he _isn't_ getting?" The girl quipped and Tyler scowled while the other two fell over in hysterics.

"Laugh it up now smart-asses," Tyler said getting to his feet and Bonnie tried to reach out for his leg while she continued to laugh, "But _I'm_ the one who knows where the weed is!"

"Not true!" Bonnie called out and like a lightning bolt the girl was on her feet and up onto the second floor of the Lockwood estate, with Tyler hot on her heels. Matt chuckled as he heard them arguing playfully upstairs, Bonnie shouting out loud in boisterous sounds of success at having found his stash when his eyes locked with Caroline who'd gone quiet.

"_Don't_." The boy warned and she sniffled in response.

"I'm just going to _miss_ her. Who else is going to laugh at my jokes and make sure there's nothing in my teeth?…"

"Caroline, you're moderately entertaining so I'm sure I could muster up a chuckle or two if you really need me to and you've literally never had anything in your teeth…Not even in kindergarten – it's _weird_." Matt said and she giggled softly, wiping at her face. She sighed dramatically when she realised how selfish she was being and he must have seen it on her face because when she made to open her mouth to say something equally as supportive he waved her off. "Please don't say anything, it's better that way." She nodded, her sadness falling away when Tyler came downstairs with Bonnie tossed over his shoulder.

"Okay so Bonnie's been cut off for the next ten minutes, no one's allowed to even look at her, capiche?" Tyler said as he roughly adjusted her weight on his shoulder, grinning when she whacked his back. "So who's rolling? My hands are full."

* * *

><p>"This fucking sucks," Matt said for the millionth time as he hovered over Bonnie's body. She raised her eyebrows as her hand dropped down between them and cupped him through his jeans.<p>

"_This_," Bonnie asked as she moved her legs to wrap around his waist to connect the lower halves of their bodies, "Making out with your girlfriend… _sucks_?" She moved against him and used a hand to grip his ass to pull him even closer to her while they stayed fully clothed. His sister was next door so they were _pretending_ to keep it PG. "There's no pleasing you Donovan." She teased as she saw the colour run to the surface of his cheeks and he gripped his bottom lip between his teeth to keep from moaning out loud.

"You know what I meant." He said gruffly, pushing against her, "Why are we wearing pants again?" He wondered and she laughed.

"I think you mentioned something about Vicki tutoring someone for Math in the room next to us?" Bonnie whispered conspiratorially as she moved to ghost her lips over his. Why the fuck did her parents have to do this to her she wondered as he pressed his mouth firmly against hers. She'd been in love with him longer than she could care to remember back to her childhood, but she and Tyler had been friends longer than that – only _just_. Caroline had moved to town in second grade and that was it, the four of them had been iron-clad ever since. Until now that is.

"You're thinking about it." Matt whispered, his breath rushing over the skin of her neck and she sighed as she arched her back against him. His teeth nibbled down her throat as his hands worked upwards over her chest and she sucked in a breath and cleared her head quickly enough to stop him before his mouth could get anywhere near her bra.

"_Yes_ I am and _you_ shouldn't do that," she said trying to see reason, "I don't feel like being quiet right now." Matt grinned wickedly but it was short lived when he realised what it really meant. "Not here." He nodded and wiggled up until they were nose to nose with a smile on his face. He gave her a soft, sweet kiss and rolled off of her.

"Come on," He said blowing out a breath and adjusting his pants, "Let's get decent, I'm taking you to dinner."

* * *

><p>When she left she did cry. A <em>lot<em>, and hideously while she was at it. Caroline being Caroline had given her a Your-Parents-Are-Assholes-And-I'm-Going-To-Miss-You care package that she could only open once she got to the new house. Tyler had given her his football jersey, saying he could just get another one but his favourite girl had to have his original one – sweat and all. He also promised to never stop calling or irritating the shit out of Matt and Caroline and when he hugged her he whispered how much he loved her and she sobbed and told him the same thing. When it came to Matt…her heart shattered into a million pieces. She loved this boy more than her music collection and _that_ took some damn doing. They kissed like she was going off to war and the last thing she saw when her mom's car drove away to the airport was him and Tyler standing in the middle of the road, waving her off. She turned to her mother then, her father having opted to drive through with the moving truck, all two thousand miles, of the distance.

"You know I hate you right?" Bonnie asked, her eyes still bloodshot, "And I don't mean that in a petty _woe-is-me_ teenage girl way. I hate you because you're making _me_ suffer for something I had and have _no_ control over…I hate you and I want you to know that." With that said she turned to make sure Molly hadn't completely lost it in her travelling cage in the back seat and slid her headphones on, ready to block out the rest of the world.

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><p>When Bonnie and her mother got to the house all they had was Molly, a few night's worth of clothing and slight jet lag but luckily the majority of their things had already been delivered and let in by the suspiciously chipper real estate agent Abby had made friends with. Bonnie stood in front of the iron gate and just stared at her new house. Molly was meowing unhappily in her cage but it fell on deaf ears as the hair on the back of Bonnie's neck stood to attention. She turned instinctively in the direction that the feeling came from and she locked eyes with an older man, a handsome one with piercing blue eyes but he snapped his blinds shut seconds later.<p>

"Well, at least the neighbours are friendly." Bonnie said bitterly as she followed her mother down the walkway to the front of the house. The garden was dry as hell and the dulled red brick face walls weren't doing anything to ease Bonnie into this new situation. She grimaced as her mother opened the door, a loud squeal sounding from somewhere inside the house. Abby hurried in, a smile quick to surface as she called out to the real estate agent. Bonnie put Molly's cage down on the front steps, crouched down and opened the doorway. "Don't leave me here alone, and _don't_ go too far, we don't know anyone yet." Molly tilted her head to the side and meowed impatiently.

"You _did_ just get here." Someone called out and Bonnie's head snapped up. A boy, about her age was standing at her front gate, grinning at her. He had a pleasant enough face; lovely hazel eyes and olive skin with a jaw that rivalled that of a Grecian god with hair that stuck up handsomely in auburn tufts – tall too. Bonnie smiled and stood to her feet as Molly scattered off to the edge of the front lawn. She took a step or two towards him.

"Yes," Bonnie said a little awkwardly, "Do you live in this road?"

"Next door actually, with the grumpy old man." Bonnie pointed to the house on her right with a curious expression and the boy nodded.

"That's the one. I'm Stefan by the way." He said, still staying on the other end of the gate.

"Bonnie."

"Bonnie? _Nice_, I guess I'll see you around pretty girl… school probably. Watch out for the realtor, she's a bit of a nutter." As if to illustrate his point, loud peals of laughter echoed out through to the front of the house and Bonnie winced. "Told you." Stefan said with a grin and waved as he walked over to his property and made his way inside. Bonnie watched him leave, she couldn't help it, there was something odd about him. But odd was good, it sure as hell beat the saucer eyed nicotine-stained, mile-wide smile the realtor greeted her with when she eventually trudged indoors.

That night Bonnie had insisted on sleeping in her room, even though she didn't have any real bedding. Pulling Tyler's football shirt on she did her round of phone calls before she tied her hair up and readied herself for bed. She was peeking out of the window to see if Molly was behaving herself, she'd heard some low meowing not too long ago but she ended up looking next door and locking eyes with Stefan's dad. Yelping she jumped back in fright and hurried away from the window so he couldn't see her anymore.

"What a _weirdo_." Bonnie muttered as she got onto her mattress and pulled a throw over her. _MS MR_ was crooning in the background and her eyes finally closed after the world's longest day.

At some point in the night Bonnie's eyes opened and she frowned. She hadn't heard anything that could have stirred her but she sat up anyways, rubbing at her eyes and muttering about insufferable parents and long distance relationships. When she opened her eyes to look around her new room her heart launched into her throat when she spotted someone at the foot of her bed. She didn't know what time it was but there was just enough light to make out his porcelain skin and his bright blue eyes before he vanished. Bonnie's heart was still thrumming as she gripped her cell phone and shone the light around her room. After making sure no one was in the room she sprang out of bed and hauled ass to where her mom was. Crawling in beside her she felt her mother turn around and rub her shoulder comfortingly.

"This doesn't mean we're talking." Bonnie clarified with a huff before snuggling her back into her mother's front and pressing her eyes shut, hoping that tomorrow would be a hell of a lot less straining on her.

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><p><strong>Alright, thoughts? Is this worth pursuing or should I just suck it up and let my love of American Horror Story Season 1 go? Let me know!<strong>

**Stay excellent.**


	2. Did You Hear That?

**I chose the actors based on aesthetics not logistics so that's why the ages and stuff don't add up. I just **_**love**_** Nicole and Henry and after watching some of their stuff I can see their faces so clearly as I think about writing them into this and it works in my brain (which is also why I'm not surprised that you guys were like 'whaa-?' lol.)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Did You Hear That?**

"So when's daddy getting here?" Bonnie asked as she flounced into the kitchen still in Tyler's jersey and her cotton short-shorts that you couldn't even see under the hem of the oversized Timberwolves sweater. Abby shrugged as she continued stacking mugs into a nearby cupboard while Bonnie rifled through the lack of variety that had been laid out for breakfast. "So, no dad and no cereal?" Bonnie surmised with a long sigh. "Feels like home already."

"Just _once_," Abby said turning around to narrow her eyes at her daughter, "When you come downstairs could we skip the part where you aggravate me and actually be pleasant?" Bonnie pulled a face at that, like the thought alone repulsed her. Dropping the packet of granola bars back onto the counter she yawned and made her way to the other end of the kitchen, where the fridge was.

"Just _once_," Bonnie said as she opened the door and pulled out a bottle of water and two apples, "Could we get something in this house that couldn't double as bird feed?" Bonnie turned with a frown on her face, "Some of us happen to _like_ carbs."

"That's because you're seventeen," Abby reasoned with a knowing lift of her brow, "Carbs don't like you much when you're my age."

"Once again making me suffer for a slight against you." Bonnie drawled lazily as her eyes bore into her mothers. "I'll either be upstairs in my room screaming along to Chevelle or out in the back with Molly. Whether you need me or not _don't_ bother me." She turned away then and made her way into the opulent hallways and up the wooden stair well. Bonnie could admit that the house was beautiful but she liked the old one more. There were more memories and more meaning for her in her Mystic Falls home; moments with Matt, moments with Tyler and Caroline as well. _Hell_, even some fond memories of her parents were there, shaking off her misery she stepped into the bathroom and showered and dressed herself. Grabbing a book and a thin blanket she made her way out into the back yard where the grass was in a much better condition than the front. "Molly if you're out here somewhere could you please keep whatever you've killed as _far_ away from me as possible. I've _just_ showered." There was a defiant meow and a rustling of bushes before the cat sped away with something dangling between its teeth. Bonnie rolled her eyes and shuddered.

"I like that you talk to your cat," Stefan's voice called from somewhere beyond the fence and Bonnie spun around and craned her neck as his head popped into view over the fence, "It's weird."

"It _is_ weird," Bonnie admitted with a small smile, "Wanna hop over the fence? We can skip over the weirdness and get right to the part where you laugh at my jokes and tell me about Westfield High." Stefan grinned then and with a surprisingly agility made quick work of the fence separating them and walked over to her. "I've only just realised how tall you are." She said with a soft laugh and he beamed proudly before flopping down onto a side of the blanket. She sank down and folded her legs underneath herself and eyed him out blatantly. Stefan was leaning back onto his hands that were extended behind him with his legs stretched out in front.

"What?" He asked after she just kept looking at him.

"Nothing, you're just pretty weird yourself." She said with a smile and he nodded.

"Happens when you live a life like mine." He said easily and she nodded, relating to the sentiment. "So how do you like the neighbourhood?" Bonnie quirked a brow and moved her book aside as she turned her neck to look back at the house.

"It's..." Bonnie said, exhaling exasperatedly, "Not _home_." The corners of his eyes tightened as he sussed out her demeanour.

"You didn't want to move did you?" Stefan surmised and she shook her head in the negative. "I know what that's like, kind of…All I've wanted to do was move away from here but my dad – he refuses." Bonnie's eyes trailed over the sudden hardness that was creeping into his features as he spoke about his father.

"Is it just the two of you?" Bonnie asked, moving to rest some of her weight on a hand. He nodded.

"Everyone except us died." He said with a tight smile and Bonnie winced apologetically.

"Sorry," she said, "I'm not very good at making conversation." He laughed because he so clearly wasn't either.

"You're doing fine," Stefan said, "Now what do you wanna know about good old Westfield?"

"What are the girls like?" Bonnie wondered, she'd have to hit the ground running, it was halfway through the year already. Stefan scoffed and shrugged.

"Do I seem like someone who's figured out the status quo?" He asked with a dark chuckle and Bonnie looked at him, deciding that she liked him even more then.

"Okay fair enough, but I want to know what to expect, do they dress like hipsters, do they insist on dying the tips of their hair different colours or am I dealing with enviro-wary girls who think that '_make_ _love_ _not_ _war'_ means they get to open their legs for everyone on the Go-Green committee?" Stefan barked a laugh at that and Bonnie giggled.

"Dammit Bonnie" He said, leaning forward a little, "Now I actually like you." She snorted. "Kids at Westfield are pretty old school, girls are still bitchy and boys are still indifferent towards anything outside of sports, booze and sex." Bonnie nodded thoughtfully as she chewed her bottom lip.

"Wait, how old are you, will we be in the same year?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Well, I'm seventeen, so…" He waved a hand at her small frame, "You look about _fifteen_ –" A chuckle cut off his words when Bonnie swatted a hand at him with a grin on her face.

"Whatever," she quipped, "But that's great so we'll be in the same year. So now I have one friend."

"_Friend_, huh?" Stefan asked with a brow lifted and a broad smile on his face and she nodded. She stuck a hand out to him.

"What do you say…friends?" He looked at her hand and then at her face before he began nodding.

"Friends." He said and then jumped when something crashed somewhere inside of his house. He was on his feet before she'd registered his hand in hers and she frowned. "I have to – uh…I'll see you later?" She nodded and watched as he flew over the fence again and hurried inside through the back door of his house. The frown on her face lingered long after the door was slammed shut.

* * *

><p>Bonnie was trying to zone out from the heinously superficial conversation her mother was having with the realtor, who'd insisted Bonnie call her <em>Marcy<em>. Digging in the fridge Bonnie heard the familiar sound of her father's truck and almost jumped out of her skin, slamming the door shut and running out of the house and down the walkway in time to see her dad getting out. Despite herself Bonnie was ecstatic, if her dad was here she'd feel safer, _plus_, her mom would get off her ass about everything and pile her annoyances onto her father's shoulders. All was fair to Bonnie.

"It's about damn time!" Bonnie exclaimed as she swung the front gate open. Her dad was all smiles as he lifted her into a hug.

"Missed you too Bon." He said as he put her back down on the ground. He looked around him as Bonnie waved at the driver of the moving truck who looked set to guzzle down a good couple glasses of whiskey. "How's everything so far?" Rudy asked, looking back down at his bite size daughter. She shrugged; something she'd picked up from her mother and looked over her shoulder at the house.

"The house is beautiful but creepy at night, the neighbours are weird, except Stefan, he's the kid next door, _my_ age, he's cool, Molly loves it here, mom made friends with a psychopath named Marcy –"

"The realtor?" Rudy interjected and Bonnie gave him a look that said 'I _know_ right'.

"There's a basement I refused to go into and I think there's an attic too but again, _refusing_, also, why the hell can't I just be _home schooled_ or something – oh! And before I forget, I hope you have the box Care made for me, because it wasn't here and I _**swear**_ –"

"It drove in the passenger seat with me," Rudy said with a smug smile, "I know how much it means to you, Matt also gave me something for you but we'll get to that."

"_Why_, is it his heart?" Bonnie teased as Rudy threw an arm over her shoulder which she shrugged off in annoyance, "You don't get to be cuddly daddy, we're still in a fight." Rudy sighed. "For a _while_ too. You uprooted my life! My attention span lasts a little longer than you suspected I'm sure but you're not out of the woods yet. It's gonna take an iTunes gift card and a weekend for Matt to stay here before I so much as let you ruffle my hair." Rudy chuckled but nodded, he was sure if his wife had made a list it wouldn't be anywhere near as reasonable. "Come inside and meet Marcy, let me know if you need help unpacking anything, it sure as hell beats pretending to care about _organic produce_." She stuck her tongue out after saying that with her eyes rolling, pretending to strangle herself. Rudy groaned but followed the sounds of Abby's laughter into what he assumed to be the kitchen. As Bonnie made her way upstairs she heard Marcy exclaim something along the lines of her father having exceptional muscle tone and wonderful teeth…_gross_.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you've already made a new friend?" Tyler scoffed as Bonnie shooed her dad away after he dropped off Caroline's care package and a small wrapped box on top of that. Caroline's care package literally came in a brown mover's box and Bonnie chuckled as she settled it down on her already crowded bedroom floor as she smiled into the mouthpiece of her cell phone.<p>

"No one could ever replace you Ty, you know this." Bonnie reassured him as she stretched to reach for a pair of scissors to cut through the tape.

"I still want that in writing by the way." Tyler said, the smile returning to his voice. "How's everything else? Any news on the school?"

"Not really, but get _this_…" Bonnie tore open the flaps of the box and plucked out an envelope that was resting over everything else. She let it fall down next to her, she'd read it later. "Marcy, the farcy realtor?" Tyler hummed in acknowledgment, "She said that the reason this place was so cheap, was because the last couple who stayed here _totally_ offed themselves."

"_Nice_." Tyler commented and Bonnie laughed.

"I'm totally serious Tyler, I think it happened in like the dining room or something, which is weird because you know that's all I'm going to be thinking about now every time I'm in the room and I just…_ugh_."

"You should just move back and stay here with me." Tyler said chewing on something, "I mean, it's not like anyone's even here any way or whatever but there's _food_ and _me_ and you know, your boyfriend's down the road and Caroline could stay over every now and then if she promises not to spray that strawberry scented body spritz shit _anywhere_ near me." Bonnie giggled but sighed sadly at the image he'd illustrated in her mind. The Lockwood mansion was plenty big, there was enough space to fit this new house in there and then some, probably Stefan's place too…not that Bonnie liked the idea of his dad's eyes following her all the way home.

"Now I _know_ you miss me, you'd even let Caroline terrorize you." Bonnie said her eyes downcast as she fiddled unseeingly with a CD case in her hands.

"I'd let her _move in_ if it meant you could come back." Tyler said with no hesitation, "And you can't tell me that that's not love." Bonnie actually felt her throat begin to close up, drawing in a breath she exhaled sharply, growling when she had to wipe at the tears falling from her eyes.

"The _minute_ I graduate here," she vowed, "I'll catch the first flight back to you guys, I swear."

"Speaking of flights, I hear Matt's amid negotiations to come and see you." Bonnie nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"Two things, _one_, I _love_ the fact that the words 'amid negotiations' just came out of your mouth, it's so Mayor-esque of you, _two_, he is but so am I, I mean my parents have been on a total power trip since we packed the first box …I'll be surprised if they even replace my Prius."

"Good riddance if you ask me." Tyler muttered.

"Excuse _you_, if I remember correctly that car has saved your ass many a time, show some respect."

"Yeah what colour was it anyway?" Tyler said as if she hadn't even spoken, "Tree-Hugger Teal?"

"Shut up, I miss you." Bonnie groaned, falling back onto her wooden floors and staring up at the ceiling, "Your sweaty football shirt isn't enough."

"Do you think you could emancipate yourself and get my folks to adopt you before summer?" Tyler asked, sounding like he genuinely considered that as a viable option. Bonnie snickered.

"Your mom loves me and I don't think your dad would mind, we bonded over a love of Kafka that one time."

"Is that that curry we had the one night, 'cause it was _shit_." Tyler rebutted.

"Kafka's a _writer_," Bonnie said, tilting her head as she noticed something on the ceiling. She squinted as the scruffy engravings on the ceiling became more obvious, "I feel like I've told you that before." She stood to her feet then, head still strained upward to make sense of what she was seeing.

"Me too actually but you know how I feel about listening to you when you start sprouting words like 'existentialism' and 'romanticism'." Bonnie made a distracted sound and said 'yeah' when there was a loud crash from outside. Spinning around she looked out the window that could see into Stefan's yard. "What was that?" Tyler wondered.

"I'm not sure," Bonnie said as she peered in as best as she could into the one window that happened to be open, a figure flashed by, as if it were running, "It came from the neighbours."

"Oh, your new _friend_?" Tyler accused and Bonnie tried to laugh at the tone he'd taken but her brows were still furrowed in concern. Suddenly Stefan's father was at the window, staring, no, _glaring_ at her before he shut the blinds. Bonnie's heartbeat flip-flopped uncomfortably and she wondered why he always looked at her that way…like she'd done something wrong?

"Yeah, Stefan…Listen, I gotta go, I still have to call Matty and Care and I _know_ you have homework that you're avoiding." Tyler groaned.

"Fine," he huffed, "I love you and I miss you and I will hurt this Stefan guy if he tries to out-Tyler me."

"Not even possible Ty, love you."

Click.

* * *

><p><em>No one knows<em>

_I wonder what he thinks of me now_

_Should have stayed away but I didn't _

_I couldn't_

When Rudy had read the words carved into Bonnie's ceiling he'd immediately gone downstairs, grabbed the primer paint and painted over the eerie messages that had been left there. But he'd read them aloud first, which Bonnie had really wished he hadn't.

"Should have stayed away." She muttered thoughtfully as goose bumps broke out over the surface of her skin. Her dad would have had a field day with someone who was thinking these things – what with him being a psychiatrist and all. A good one too, lots of accolades and qualifications under the belt, he even managed to make a living in a town as mundane as Mystic Falls – he was going to make a _killing_ in LA. There was a knock on the door that jerked her out of her thoughts. Her mother peeked in with a wary smile. Bonnie rolled her eyes as she flattened another empty box and tossed it onto the pile before gesturing for her mother to come in. It was well after dinnertime and they were all still busy unloading their lives into this new house.

"You okay? Rudy said you found some weird stuff scraped into the ceiling." Abby said, dipping her head to better read her daughter's face as Bonnie stared at the ground.

"Yeah, someone who lived here before me was obviously unhappy." Abby nodded as she looked up at the now flawless ceiling.

"Marcy said that the previous tenants left this room empty actually, so it was whoever lived there _before_."

"Does she know anything about them?" Bonnie wondered, also wondering why she was suddenly indulging in the chattering of a middle-aged gossiping realtor.

"That's just _it_ though, she couldn't tell me anything even though she handled that deal as well, she had…like, an accident around the time they moved out that affected her short term memory…she literally blanked out her entire memory of them, _weird_ huh?" Bonnie looked at her mother with barely veiled exasperation.

"Yeah mom," Bonnie said her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Weird is _definitely_ the word I would have used there." Abby tisked at her daughter's tone but brushed it off as always.

"Are you going to sleep here tonight or make a Bonnie sandwich with me and Rudy?"

"I'm _**not**_ five." Bonnie quipped, crossing her arms. "You get points for sleeping in the same bed though." Abby's eyes narrowed but she remained composed.

"Alright, but just so you know, our bedroom door is open, you're never too old to be our baby." Bonnie repeated what she said in whiny clipped voice while ushering her mother out of the room.

"You're the reason I'm in this mess _**remember**_?" Bonnie pointed out, swiftly clicking the door shut once her mother was on the other side.

* * *

><p>"I should have stayed away." Bonnie moaned at the intrusion of the voice. She was in between sleeping and consciousness so the words fell into her understanding one at a time. It sounded like it was coming from nearby, an arm's length away if you will. "But I didn't. I couldn't." Her eyes shot open then and her heart's tempo sky rocketed, she didn't <strong>dare<strong> move. "I should have stayed _away_." The voice insisted, strained and hurting. A _male_ voice…a very mellifluous voice that had a heavy sadness bringing out the raspier tones in his range. "I couldn't…and I didn't…" Bonnie's breathing hitched. "Would _you_ have stayed away?" Bonnie's mouth had dried out at this point and her heartbeat thundered painfully in her chest. What kind of bullshit nightmare was this? She felt as her bed dipped and a weight she hadn't even _felt_ next to her moved away. "I bet you would have done the same thing." Bonnie shot upright, flicking the side lamp on and panting as she blinked away at the sleep riddling her eyes, trying to bring them into focus. There was no one there but she couldn't shake the feeling that had turned her bones into jellied _**mush**_ when she felt her bed _move_ just then.

"What the actual _**fuck**_." She gasped, clutching at her chest as she willed her heart to return to a more normal rhythm.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my dear Bonnie, what on Earth have we gotten ourselves into?<strong>


	3. Mom, Could You Not?

**Chapter Three**

**Mom…Could You Fucking **_**Not**_

Bonnie didn't know why but when she woke up the next day, she had a weird feeling thrumming in her chest. She tried recalling any shred of information about her dreams but she was only drawing up a fuzzy haziness. Sitting up in her bed she looked around her confused when she remembered that she was in Los Angeles now. In a musty, old, _flashy_ house, thousands of miles away from where she wanted to be. Sighing, she got out of bed and pulled her curtains open, tripping over this and that as she moved around blindly. Her room was slowly coming together, her familiar grey and black quilted bedding on her new iron frame bed with her desk set up covered in piles of CDs, books and photographs. The room itself was quite big and spacious, which she liked, but it was also wooden floored and a little cold. After cleaning herself up and getting ready for her last day of peace before she was expected to fall into a school schedule again she made her way downstairs, grimace in place in case one of her parents popped out from behind a corner.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee." The green eyed girl muttered as she shuffled to the far counter in the kitchen, jumping when a cupboard door closed with a loud bang. Turning around ready to scowl at whomever it was she was met with a frail old woman in a cleaner's get-up. "…Hi." Bonnie said and the woman nodded and shuffled off to the next room with a duster in her hand. Bonnie frowned, wondering what the hell her parents were thinking employing a maid that looked moments from being booked into an old age home…or the _morgue_. Turning back to the coffee machine she prepared a fresh pot of coffee, pressing the start button then looking up and out one of the windows into the yard.

"Good, you're up." Abby's voice called pulling Bonnie back in to the moment as she twisted her torso to eye her mother out. "I'm going grocery shopping do you want anything."

"_Every_thing." Bonnie muttered tiredly, it was like she hadn't slept at _all_ last night. Abby shook her head as she ran her finger down her shopping list before walking over to Bonnie and handing her the list with a pen.

"Write it all down; whatever you leave out you'll be without for a week, got it?" Bonnie stuck her tongue out to the back of her mother's head as Abby walked to the fridge to look over what they already had.

"Ja Führer!" Bonnie exclaimed with a gruff German accent as she began to add all the things she wanted. Red liquorice, tampons, Nutella, bagels, cream cheese, choc chip cookies, pancake mix, strawberry syrup, frozen pizza bases, cheddar cheese, _more_ cheese, mozzarella cheese, _all_ of the cheese…Abby yanked the list away when she saw the smile on Bonnie's face.

"Enough out of you." Abby said with a tisk as she looked over what Bonnie had added.

"I also need shampoo and deodorant!" Bonnie said waving the pen around, "You don't want me smelling _homeless_ on my first day at school tomorrow do you?" Abby stared at her drolly while she took the pen away from the girl to write it down.

"Shampoo and deodorant." Abby said with a nod before looking over Bonnie's shoulder at the coffee machine. "Go take your dad some coffee; he's in his office screening some new patients for work." Bonnie nodded, moving to pull out another mug. Abby sighed. "Also, you're taking dad's truck to school tomorrow, he won't need it." Bonnie nodded again as she walked back to the coffee machine. "We'll get you something for yourself before the month is over." Bonnie turned around then, slowly, angrily.

"Is that how it works now?" Bonnie wondered, "You _telling_ me what my life's going to be like at the end of the month instead of asking for any of my input?" Abby tossed the shopping list and pen onto the counter and put her hands on her hips.

"You're my _daughter_; I _always_ have the final say." Abby said sternly and Bonnie waved a hand in defeat.

"This is the shit I'm talking about!" Bonnie exclaimed and Abby's face hardened.

"What have I told about talking a tone with me!" The mother snapped, leaning in to scowl at her child. "And _swearing_! Since when was it okay to swear in front of me?"

"Since when is it okay for two grown people to act like such _children_ and expect their _actual_ child to keep it together?" Bonnie spat. They stared each other down before Abby took in a deep breath.

"Take your dad the coffee and call if you forgot to add anything." With that she took the list and dropped it in her handbag as she left the room, "And be nice to Katherine, she's been cleaning this house for years." Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Looks it too." The girl muttered under her breath, the anger in her chest only simmering down to a manageable frustration when she heard the front door close. Filling up the cups she walked to where her dad had set up shop. Knocking while she held his coffee in her other hand she had her smile in place when he called out for her to come in. She didn't even look at the patient as she walked over to him, holding out the coffee. "Mom said you'd want some." Rudy smiled, flashing his perfect teeth and Bonnie wanted to scream about her mother, she really did, but she knew it would only make things worse.

"Thank you." Rudy said as he took the cup, gesturing at the person in front of him, "This is my daughter," he said waving a hand to Bonnie who finally turned around, "Bonnie."

"Hi" Bonnie said as she locked eyes with a boy who looked about eighteen nineteen with black floppy hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled then and she couldn't help but do the same what with the way it lit up his face.

"Damon." He replied and Bonnie's ears prickled at the sound of his voice, "Damon Samson."

"It's uh, it's nice to meet you." Bonnie had heard his voice somewhere before, but she couldn't place it, so she turned to her dad with her smile still in place and kissed his cheek. She always played nice in front of her father's patients. "I'm going to start prepping for school okay daddy?"

"Sure honey." Rudy replied easily, "Let me know if you need anything." Bonnie hummed in response, looking at Damon once more before she left the room with a breath rushing out of her as she hurried back into the kitchen. The strangest feeling had sloshed around in her chest when she'd heard him speak…how could it have sounded familiar when she had _just_ met him? Gripping her coffee mug in her shaking hands she was assaulted with a crystal clear recollection of her dream last night.

"_**I should have stayed away." Bonnie had moaned at the intrusion of the voice. She'd been in between sleeping and consciousness so the words fell into her understanding one at a time. It sounded like it was coming from nearby, an arm's length away if you will. "But I didn't. I couldn't." Her eyes had shot open then and her heart's tempo sky rocketed, she hadn't **_**dared**_** to move. "I should have stayed away." The voice insisted, strained and hurting. A male voice…a very mellifluous voice that had a heavy sadness bringing out the raspier tones in his range. "I couldn't…and I didn't…" Bonnie's breathing hitched. "Would **_**you**_** have stayed away?"**_

The mug fell from Bonnie's hands and shattered onto the tiled kitchen floor, the sharp sound pulling her out of her own head. Katherine came scuttling in then, tisking at Bonnie's clumsiness while the girl remained staring in front of her, her mouth hanging open in breathless horror.

"Now Miss," Katherine said with a groan as she eased herself onto her haunches while Bonnie blinked herself back into the present moment and dropped herself to her knees, "You should be more careful."

"Let me, _please_." Bonnie said, her voice thin as her shaking hands picked at the shards of ceramic scattered on in front of her. Katherine nodded and stood to her feet.

"I'll fetch the mop." Bonnie nodded as she continued to pick up as much as she could. She stood up and dumped the majority of the broken mug in the bin and washed her hands. She noticed that she'd cut the side of her thumb and she hissed as it began to sting under the spray of cold water.

"I'm pretty clumsy myself." Damon called out to her and Bonnie started as she turned to look at him, he really was otherworldly, in his appearance alone, but the fact that she'd _dreamt_ him before meeting him was what had her on edge. "But that doesn't look too bad." Bonnie looked at her thumb, holding it out a little so he could see as well as she shook her head.

"It's not," she said, not surprised when her voice shook a little.

"Are you alright?" Damon asked, taking a step closer to her before her father stepped into the kitchen, clapping a hand on Damon's back. "I must have taken the wrong turn." Damon said by way of explanation.

"It's alright," Rudy said, "I'll show you out."

"It's fine thank you, I see it right there." Damon said with a quick grin, "I'll see you on Tuesday?"

"_Four o' clock_." Rudy reminded with him with his trademark warm smile, reserved only for his patients. Damon nodded and waved at Bonnie before heading out. Bonnie couldn't help when her eyes followed him. "_Bon_." Her father's voice pulled her attention back to his face, he was giving her a surly expression and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not _perving_ over him dad, I just thought…" her voice trailed off then, what the hell could she have said to explain what she could feel gnawing at her mind? "Never mind, I'm not getting a lot of sleep. I dropped a mug and it cut my thumb open and he was showing the _slightest_ amount of concern, there's no need for you to brood." Rudy walked up to her then as Katherine returned to the kitchen. He reached up to one of the cupboards and pulled out a first aid kit and set out to clean and cover the thin but long wound Bonnie had managed to garner. Bonnie watched her father's face as he faffed over her and she could admit to enjoying this moment between them, it served as a reminder that he still cared about her well-being, as strange as it sounded. All Bonnie had gotten out of her parents of late were threats for divorce and then them yelling at her for never being at home – go figure. A small smile crept up the side of Bonnie face as Rudy brought the bandaged finger to his mouth and kissed it quickly, like he always did when she was younger.

"There we go." Rudy said, packing everything back in the box to put it away. Bonnie eyed out the Band-Aids that read "_Shark Bite_". Part of a pack that had been a goof gift she'd gotten her dad for his birthday. She turned back to Katherine with an apologetic smile and the old woman waved her off. Both Bonnie and Rudy watched as the woman worked to clean up the floor, Rudy suddenly clearing his throat and looking away. Bonnie noticed and frowned.

"It's weird right?" Bonnie whispered softly to her dad as they walked out of the kitchen, "Tell me you think it's weird." Surprisingly Rudy nodded and Bonnie almost high-fived him.

"It _is_," he agreed, "But your mother was the one who gave it the go ahead, apparently Katherine worked for the previous tenants as well, she said she came with the house." Bonnie frowned, the woman must have been as old as the house itself. Neither knew that they were both seeing two different women when looking at Katherine. Where Bonnie saw an old frail lady with a kind face and a dulled film over her one eye, Rudy saw a young woman who was _very_ aware of how attractive she is.

"Whatever, I'm going upstairs to read or something."

"_Prep for class_ you mean." Rudy corrected her authoritatively. Bonnie waved a hand at him as she walked to the stairs.

"Sure, _that_." She called over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Bonnie stepped into her room with a long sigh as she leaned against her closed door. Looking around her room she laughed mirthlessly to herself. Walking towards her window she peeked out as she'd discovered it was now a habit of hers to do and she looked over at Stefan's house. Even though it was a Sunday and things were traditionally quiet on days like these his house was <em>eerily<em> silent. All the windows Bonnie could see were shut with the blinds drawn. There were no animals, or any indication of any life around or inside the house. Bonnie frowned but turned away, not wanting to snoop on her neighbours anymore.

Walking over to her desk she redistributed the mess she'd made on top of it and opened her laptop. Pleased as punch that her dad had managed to sort out the internet in the house she clicked onto _Google Chrome_ and decided to find out some more about her school.

"Westfield High." She muttered aloud as she scrolled through the results. First there was the school's self-made site which was to be expected and she opened that in a separate tab while she scanned the rest of the results. There was nothing particularly interesting, there was an article about a shooting at the school four years ago but she wasn't in the mood to give herself anymore nightmares. She went through the profile administered by the school and was almost instantly bored. There were smiling photographs, pristine school grounds – everything she was sure she _wouldn't_ be seeing in the morning. Just then she heard a car pull up and two doors open and close. She heard Stefan's voice and another gruffer, deeper one that she assumed belonged to his father. She didn't peek out the window this time, she didn't want his father shooting daggers her way again. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she had yet to eat and she took her detective cap off and bounded downstairs to raid the fridge.

Damon peeked out of the room when she'd left the door ajar and made his way over to her laptop, pulling open the article about the shooting. He scrolled through the details and his finger hovered over the mouse pad and simultaneously over the blurred black and white photograph of himself before he clicked the tab closed and pushed away from her desk. He walked over to the window he usually saw Bonnie peeking out of and looked down at where his brother and father were, no doubt arguing about some asinine thing, like Stefan's free will and independence. Scoffing he moved away again and walked casually through the halls of his home and made his way up to the attic where his youngest sibling was waiting for him.

* * *

><p>"Please don't eat everything," Abby chastised as Bonnie pulled out another bagel from the bag ready to cut it open and cram it full of cream cheese. Pulling a face at her mother she did it anyway.<p>

"I haven't eaten all day, and it's either _this_ or the frozen pizzas which I'm trying to save for whenever you take it upon yourself to 'cook' again." The girl curled her fingers around the word with a knife dangling from her one hand. Abby threw her hands up in defeat and marched out of the kitchen. Bonnie snickered in success as her phone rang. "Yellow." She sang.

"Hi babe." Matt said and she dropped everything she was doing and turned to lean her back on the counter.

"Baby!" She sighed in relief, "You have _no_ idea how glad I am that you're calling."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" Bonnie said whole-heartedly, "This whole life without you thing is _bullshit_."

"Agreed." The boy muttered unhappily. "I know it's been like two nights but it's not right without you here, without you a few blocks away, you know?" Bonnie nodded and her body sagged a little, deflated and tired of being away from him.

"I know, I know, I hate it as much, if not more than you do." She reassured him. "And I haven't even been _sleeping_ much, and mom's still driving me crazy and dad still says shit-all about any of it and I just – can you please just come get me or something? Or we could run away? Meet somewhere in the middle and head somewhere else and _never_ look back."

"I'd pack my bags right now if I could you know that." Matt said with a thickness in his voice and Bonnie used her free hand to cover her face as her head fell forward. "But you know I can't leave Vicki with my mom." Bonnie swallowed her sigh.

"I know. Fuck this _**sucks**_." Bonnie groaned.

"I told you." Matt said, and her mind flashed to when she was lying underneath him with her legs wrapped around his waist, his face flushed as she teased him. She laughed softly but her heart wasn't it, she missed him too damn much.

"I love you Matty." She said, the sadness in her voice as clear as day.

"I love _you_." He replied, like he always did, and she hoped he always would because him and her best friends back home were the only things keeping her sane at present.

"I'll never get tired of you saying that." She mumbled.

"I'll never get tired of saying it." Matt vowed and her heart swelled.

"Look, I'm gonna rail at my parents until they give me a date for you to come visit, I need to see you."

"I've got enough cash saved for airfare and all that so whenever you want me I'm there."

"I always want you." Bonnie replied instantly, like it was instinct, which she supposed it was.

"Do you wanna have phone sex?" Matt asked and although she knew he was only trying to lighten the mood she also knew that it was exactly what they both needed. Looking down at her bagel she chewed her lip with a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. She finished making it and left everything where it was as she hurried upstairs.

"_Fuck_ yes." She said as she kicked her door closed and dropped her food next to her laptop before flopping onto her bed.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm pretty sure Damon's watching…who <strong>_**knows**_** who else.**


End file.
